Revlon Moonlit Woods

Another polish of the Revlon scented series. I can't help, I'm addicted to this series and I'm very sad that the Revlon brand store where I used to get these for a super discounted price is closing.
Let's put the sad away and talk about this polish. It was a gift from my mom: I really liked this color and I was a bit sad I had never got it when Kiko did the mirror series, so I was very happy to receive it.
Unlike its Kiko fellows, however, it is not a one coater: shown here are three coats, no topcoat. It's a bit sheer, but in the end I don't care, it doesn't leave many stripes and it has a very good drying time.
Oh and the smell. What are woods at night supposed to smell, you ask yourself, and it has been a long time since I've been in a moonlight wood but it certainly doesn't smell so sweet. It's not a sickly sweet scent, it's delicate but strong (if it makes sense) and the smell was perceivable for a couple of days after application.
Like its fellows it's quite long lasting, it started chipping only after 4 days.

I really liked this one, definitely recommended!

Sugarpill Heart Breaker palette review

Look, I'll understand if you think it's pointless to review a product that beauty bloggers allover the world own and love. But still, here's my 2 cents about this super-beautiful palette.

They win all possible packaging contest from here to eternity.
But packaging aside...

Colors are Acidberry (acid green with subtle shimmer), Velocity (electric matte blue with subtle shimmer), Mochi (ultra matte seafoam) and 2am, (matte purple with soft shimmer). In the swatches I've done they don't appear much pigmented but they're actually pretty great. Mochi ended up being a personal favorite, it's ridiculously good. With primer and a white base to help the colors stand out, these will last all day perfectly. They blend like a dream and are just ... super pretty.

My swatches don't do these pretties justice!
The Sugarpill website doesn't ship to Italy (huge surprise here) but you can get them through Cocktailscosmetics.
There are two other palettes like this, with different colors, if these aren't your cup of tea.
In my humble opinion everyone should try Sugarpill once in their lifetime.
(I also own the yellow eyeshadow, Buttercupcake, which is THE BEST.)

Galaxy nails

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks. The life I am leading now makes me quite busy, I still miss posting regularly but I can't deny that this is a good moment for me.
I haven't stopped painting my nails (pfft as if it could ever happen), I just have less time for more elaborate nail art.
Anyway I want to show you this attempt at "proper" galaxy nails. I have nicknamed it Galaxy Fail because, as pretty as it is, it doesn't make me think of a galaxy when I look at it.
Or maybe it's just me.

The base was Rimmel Blue Vogue, the other polishes are Essence Over The Rainbow, Catrice Play it Blue, Revlon Ginger Melon, Essence Elves Like Liliac and some Sinful Colors Snow Me White.
My favourite thing of this nail art was having it topped with Essence's More Than Words from a very old (almost 2 years old, I believe) Valentine's day LE. The glitters are in warmer colors which allows for a very nice effect.
Not perfect, but I enjoyed having it on my nails.
I hope I'll be able to post regulary soon!

Colorful Galaxy

I wanted to do something colorful over Revlon Ginger Melon and I sponged a few colors on it to create a galaxy effect and it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but I am still posting it because the color scheme is pretty and it reminds me of the effects during a magical girl transformation.
I used Essence Elves Like Liliac, Essence Over The Rainbow, Sinful Colors Snow Me White and a bit of Catrice Play It Blue.
I still don't know what to think of it... but the colors are pretty, of that I am sure! I still want to try a "proper" galaxy nail art.

Lavender and black

And for today, another small gradient experiment, done using Kiko 338 and Pupa 209.

I wanted to create a gritty urban effect, and quite frankly I am satisfied. I still have lots to learn about gradients, and I also want to try gradients with three colors. But for now, enjoy this. I've been having more time for myself, since I'm waiting for the feedback on my thesis, which I'd say it's 95% complete.
I've also planned another color spotlight post, so stay tuned for details!

Violet and stripes

Let's face it, this kind of nail art is perfect when you don't have much time on your hands...to use for your hands, I mean, nails. Bad puns aside, it's a great way to explore new color combinations.
I spiced up the Pupa polish, 410, that I had worn during the second ballot at the elections, with some colorful stripes.
I used Kiko 284, Shaka Juicy Pumpkin and Essence L.O.L. 
Personally I love this color scheme! And the Seche Vite makes it look soo shiny!

Catrice Haute Future 04 GaLILACxy

Hello ladies! Today I'm showing you the only polish from the Haute Future LE I bought, GaLILACxy. The other two were holos and another one was a shimmer. A weirdly assorted collection!
This one is hard to classify because it seems a simple metallic pastel violet/lilac, but it's actually a duochrome, as I hoped from the bottle.
It goes from lilac to a pale yellow/champagne color. I couldn't capture it in photos really well, but under artificial lights it's very visible and impressive.
The formula isn't to die for, very sheer, this is three coats (could probably use a white base).
The color is however something very "soft" and quite unique, I have nothing similar to it and find it an interesting addition to my stash.
I could classify it as a "polish even my mom would wear" because it's very delicate.

Orly Space Cadet

The last one of the Cosmoprof polishes! Very similar to NYC Empire Purple (EP is metallic, this one is a foil).

A beautiful duochrome from purple to bronze with greenish undertones, it would probably look far better on a black base, because it's extremely sheer. This is three coats, and the coverage still isn't perfect.

The color is super pretty, so I don't mind having to apply countless layers... at least while I have my trusty Seche Vite at my side. I can understand why it became famous, good duochromes aren't as easy to find as they should be. I can't say much for the duration so far, but it already has (3 days after) some tipwear.

Cosmoprof nails + Lemon and Lavender nail art

Before showing you my swatches of my Cosmoprof goodies, I have to show you this cute nail art of mine. Inspired by a Lemon Lavender Yankee Candle that smells deliciously (obviously) and made with Kiko 338, Max Factor Mellow Yellow and Sinful Colors Snow Me White. Sadly Mellow Yellow is very sheer, so it didn't end as I wanted. Still good!

And I forgot to post my Cosmoprof NOTD, so here's what I did with Essence L.O.L. and an Essence tip painter to create a black drop effect. Very simple, but I was too tired to do anything else.

Fantasy Fire over Elves Like Lilac

Now, the (in)famous Fantasy Fire by Max Factor hardly requires a presentation. Beautiful in the bottle, hard to picture on the nails and, since the small bottle, available only for layering.
I did another layering experiment, this time over Essence Elves Like Lilac, which already has some shimmer in it. Fantasy Fire adds a golden/orange shimmer to it, with warm undertones, that actually changes the polish a lot. It doesn't bring the best out of FF, but then again, which polish does? I still like the effect, it shines nicely. Do you own FF (and most importantly, do you like it)?
(sorry for the short posts, it's still exam time after all).

NYC Empire Purple

Don't ever try to convince me you never had a day in which you felt down and needed something to cheer you up, possibily a new nail polish. I cheered up myself with Empire Purple by New York Color, a brand I can find only in a small shop in my parent's town. It would have been stunning even if it wouldn't have been a duochrome, since the purple base is a gorgeous metallic purple, a bit funerary but not too gothic. Honestly, the definition of "Empire" suits it perfectly since it reminds me of the purple vests worn by byzantine emperors. According to the light, however, it gains wonderful bronze hues.

Under artificial light it seems to gain even orange reflections. Bronze and purple, very fitting for an empire!
The formula is quite good, great coverage in two coats and not too streaky (I still recommend some caution not to leave brush strokes), I have no complaints to make about it. Should you get it? It's cheap (less than 2 euros) and wonderful, so yes, definitely. You can never have enough duochromes ( I certainly don't).


Vote: A

Kiko Venom Teal over China Glaze Charmed, I'm Sure

The good thing: the two colors go really well together.
The bad thing: apparently i cannot draw triangles.
The teal ones were supposed to be triangles. I was expecting Venom Teal to be an one-coater and it was not, which kinda complicated things. I purchased it with the 30% off coupon, together with a violet lipstick.
The duochrome effect present in the bottle isn't much visible on the nail, but it's still a magnificent color. For once, they chose a really good name, it's really dark and venom-like, fitting for a Dark Heroine.
I can't wait to try it all over my nails. More of a fall color than a winter one, but in the end who cares, it's awesome. I have a couple of teals, but this is different than any I own.
I was afraid it might be a dupe of the Pupa blue/violet duochrome of the fall LE, but they're actually very different. This is less duochrome-ish (unfortunately) and much more teal-based.
For some weird reason I don't like my nails when they're fully covered by polish...

Rainbow Challenge day 7, Violet Nails: My very first China Glaze polish!

The Rainbow Challenge ends with something really special for me, my first China Glaze. A brand I've always heard wonders of, and never found before. But a few days ago I went to see Hunger Games 2, and in the mall where there's the cinema I found a small shop for everything nail and hair related, with China Glaze polishes. On sale. The day after I came back and bought the polish I had fallen in love with: Charmed, I'm Sure, from the autumn LE.
A wonderful eggplant purple creme, opaque in 2 coats. Great application. The color is super shiny even without topcoat.
I guess I'll be checking that shop more often, should they get the winter collection I want the snow-effect one.

By the way, today it's the last day when you can use the 30% off promo at Kiko, will you get anything? If I had enough money I'll get the textured polishes set, but I'll settle down for less stuff.

Rainbow Challenge Day 6, Indigo Nails

Ok, in the pic it looks more blue than indigo, but I swear, it is indigo. The base is 07 Nail Art Twins-Chuck by Essence, the french tips are Pupa 002 from the new LE.
I  didn't have much time and energy for nail art lately, but I can still present you indigo, a very complicated color to define, in between blue and purple. A simple french sometimes pays!

My first order from Concrete Minerals

Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been very busy and tired lately. I'm also late on my rainbow challenge. But first...

I'm always searching for nice matte colors, especially blue and green. So when I found out the pro matte eyeshadow line on the Concrete Minerals website I knew I needed them. I searched some review and swatches, and everything seemed very promising. So I asked my sister if she wanted to join me in this order, and a friend too. We got ourselves some nice colors!

My picks were Toxic and Bulletproof of the Pro Matte line and Smut of the standard minerals line. I decided to try their standard minerals too, since I got a coupon code to get two of them for 10 dollars when becoming their friend on fb. One for me and one for my sister!

Their customer service was really good, I sent them an email on friday evening and received an answer on saturday morning, that was really quick and nice from them. As you can see from the upper photo, everything was nicely packed in order to avoid problems. There was also a card explaining how to use mineral eyeshadows, two samples and a discount on the next order. The cutest thing? The thank you note written in pink marker!

I still haven't had the time to test them all, but I can tell you this: Bulletproof is the brightest bluest eyeshadow/eyeliner you can find. I used it as an eyeliner today, simply mixing it with a drop of water and applying it with an eyeliner brush. On their website it says they blend like a dream, and you know what? it's freaking true. They're soft and easy to work with. Bulletproof did stain the upper part of the lid a bit until it was fully dried. Then it was like a tattoo. A matte, blue eyeliner tattoo. Perfect.

 Toxic is an acid green, more neon that acid perhaps, but the color I needed nonetheless.It's going to make a gorgeous cyberpunk eyeliner. Smut is the weirdst color I've ever seen: a multichrome that goes from grey to purple to brown with glitter. I can't wait to try them too!

The jars come with a plastic seal on the holes. Look at that blue, isn't that the most gorgeous blue you've ever seen? Better than the Sephora pencil, better than the Kiko eyeliner.
I am sooo pleased by this purchase.

Pupa Iridescent Nail Polish 001 & 002- Cosmic Beauty LE review

I picked those two beauties at La Gardenia, where they offer a 40% discount on the second product you buy of the same or lower price. Also, those polishes cost 3.50 euros each, so I ended up paying little more than 5 euros for two polishes: not bad, if you consider that the recommended retail price for those is 5.95 euros on the Pupa website..

I was sure I was going to love 002 Iridescent Blue, but I ended up loving 001 Iridescent Silver more.

002 is surely beautiful: a duochrome that goes from blue to violet/purple. The color is intense, really reminiscent of galaxies. 001, however, is stunning: a multichrome with a silver base that shifts from light oilive green to purple. If you look at it very closely it looks like it has micro-holographic particles or something like that (002 has them, but they're less visible). This is Catrice's Iron Mermaiden as it should have been. It's going to make a great F/W polish. It can also be an office-friendly ladylike shade. So if you should buy just one, I'd say buy 001, and this is really weird from me, because peacock-like colors like 002 are usually a must have for me.

Now, to the problems: application is meh. Used to the flawless application and formula of last year's fall LE (remember, the China Doll one?) polishes, I was a bit disappointed by those. 002, especially: the formula is thick and dense, and the brush seemed unable to carry enough color to cover the nail fully, resulting in a streaky effect and zones of your nails where the color didn't apply just right. I was using a basecoat, my trusty Essence one. Make sure you file your nails and hide the lines on them, those colors make them super visible.
The coverage could be better, I was expecting them to be one coaters, but they're not. Still better than Catrice's Iron Mermaiden.
The formula of 001 is slightly better than 002. I wonder if I had an unlucky bottle (that had been opened before) or that's the standard for the line.
I can't wait to try stamping on/with them.

Would I recommend them?
001 for sure, 002 I'm not sure. It really saddens me to say so, because they look very pretty in the bottles and really have a galaxy/cyber effect. This depends on you, wheter if you are ready to forgive a not so great application for a pretty color. If you can get them for a lower price than 5 euros, they're worth a try.

Colorful Nail Art

I wanted to do something inspired by this lovely palette, Heart Breaker...look at how pretty the colors are.

It didn't end as I wanted, and the top coat dryed quite badly.I like the pattern and the color combination but some carpentry jobs ruined my cuticles and the bad drying top coat made a bit of a mess, sigh.

Anyway, I used Essence L.O.L, Kiko 294, Catrice Play It Blue and H&M Purple Sparkle. Perhaps, one day I'll own that palette....

01 Elves Like Liliac- Essence Fantasia LE

Why is this january LE in stores even now, I don't know, but I don't complain!

The image is slightly out of focus, but it was the only way to make the blue shimmer pop out. It's gorgeous in sunlight! Unfortunately the formula isn't top quality, just as in Take A Ride On Pegasus, so I'm starting to think it affects the whole LE. And the day after it already shows some tipwear (no topcoat).
The color is however super pretty, I have nothing like this. It's also a good way to remind people to take the advertising pics on the Essence website with a pinch of salt, what seems a "boring" creme in the image may be a shimmer or even a duochrome polish.

If this LE is back in your town (it could be, it was found in 2 different towns at least, so check your friendly neighborhood store that keeps Essence) I'd still recommend you the polishes. Yeah, I wish the quality were better, but considering the price ( a little more than 2 euros) I really can't complain.

Vote: A-

Flower print + haul

Base color: Deborah 11 Sense Tech 100% Mat. Gold: Kiko 628

This weekend I went to the Comics School party and the dresscode was tie or bowtie for men and something floral for women. So I went for some floral nails! I tried the Deborah polish as base. Quite particular, it manages to be matte and shimmer at the same time. It's probably not the best polish to stamp over, since the stamping polish doesn't grasp much on it. However the effect is quite great.

And those are the last polishes I bought!  The Deborah store is addicting.. I got that top coat just for 1 euro! I always searched for it, what a bargain! And surprisingly the Essence Fantasia LE is back in stores... i get that's very cold but I wasn't expecting to find a winter LE! The only polish left was that one... I hope I can find more polishes in other stores, but it was still a great surprise!

Catrice Iron Mermaiden

So, a discontinued beauty: Catrice Iron Mermaiden (the name is absolutely brilliant).
In the bottle it's mostly grey, purple and green, like a mermaid (or a pidgeon's neck, if you're feeling less poetic), but on the nail it's the purple that stands out, and at first it seems just like a metallic purple... artificial light makes the grey/green stand out a bit more.
Even if it's really sheer (this is 3 coats), I don't get why they discontinued it, 'cause it's really pretty!